Accessibility Services

Kindle expands to include eBooks from public libraries

Earlier this morning, Amazon made a news release regarding the expansion of the Kindle's capabilities to include eBooks downloaded from public libraries. This has been a source of frustration to current users of the Kindle, and was one of the points discussed in my recent review of the product. As such, this is great news! So far the news release only addresses the Kindle's compatability with content downloaded from American public libraries, but I think that it is only a matter of time before the spectrum expands to include libraries north of the Border as well. Since TPL already has such a great collection of downloadable content for its patrons, this would mean a whole new set of options for Kindle users in Toronto.

 

Read the news release here!

Choosing an eReader - Review of the Amazon Kindle

Amazon has recently made some improvements to the Kindle, including a new joystick that allows users to move the cursor around the text to select words and look up definitions at their leisure (the kindle will also say a word out loud for you, if you aren’t sure how to pronounce it). This also makes navigating newspapers much easier, as you can flip through headlines and jump to the desired article. Pushing down on the joystick also lists each newspaper section. As with the other e-readers, the text can be magnified to the desired size for easier reading.

Additionally, Kindle 2.0 also features unique text-to-speech capabilities that aren’t found on any other e-reader. This allows for items on the screen to be read out loud, a helpful tool for anyone with a visual or learning disability, or even ESL users. Speech can be played over the Kindle’s built-in speakers, or using stereo headphones. While this is a step in the right direction, users with visual disabilities should note that it is difficult to navigate the menus to activate this function without sighted help, and there are few controls to navigate through the text with this option enabled, aside from Play/Pause (so you cannot rewind through the text without difficulty). Additionally, the physical aspects of the device are small, somewhat cramped and can be hard to navigate for users with limited motion or significant visual disabilities. AccessWorld has an excellent review of the product from an accessibility standpoint here, which points out that, while potentially useful to users with low vision, the Kindle is not ideal for blind users. 

The downside of the Kindle is that, while it does support the formats used by downloadable content from Toronto Public Library, it is not compatible with OverDrive, our download managing software, or Adobe Digital Editions, which is the software we use to manage digital rights on copyrighted materials (this is how your computer knows to delete a file after your one- or three-week loan period has elapsed). However, if you are comfortable purchasing your eBooks directly from Amazon, they can be uploaded very easily from your computer via USB, or downloaded directly from Amazon using the built-in wireless function. The kindle also features (limited) HTML browsing, and Facebook/Twitter access for passage-sharing.

 

Verdict: While the Kindle is definitely a cool device and unique in its use of text-to-speech functions, it is incompatible with e-content downloaded from TPL and still has a long way to go in terms of its accessibility functions.

 

Read our review of the Chapters-Indigo Kobo

Choosing an eReader – A guide for library users with disabilities

 

A reality of the changing literary market is that e-readers have become a major game-changer in terms of how we read books. In the last several years we’ve seen a number of different products hit the market, starting with Amazon’s Kindle and branching out to include devices such as the Borders/Chapters-Indigo Kobo, Apple iPad and Sony eReader, among others. There’s a substantial amount of controversy surrounding these devices from the publishing side, a lot of it having to do (not surprisingly) with money.

 

You’re probably wondering what this means for you – which devices are ideal for someone with a disability? Toronto Public Library offers extensive e-content available to download from the TPL site using OverDrive, including eBooks and audiobooks available in various formats. However, which of these popular eReaders the compatible with library downloads and various e-formats such as PDF or ePUB?

 

Staring with Amazon’s Kindle and continuing each week, we’ll give you a quick run-down of each device so that you get an idea of which product might be right for you, if you’ve considered purchasing an e-reader. With library users and people with disabilities in mind, each review will evaluate for compatibility with downloadable content from TPL, as well as the accessibility features (or possibly, lack thereof!) of each product.

 

Jump to review of the Amazon Kindle

Jump to review of the Chapters-Indigo Kobo

Welcome to the Accessible Services Blog!

Welcome to the Toronto Public Library’s blog for Accessible Services!  With this blog we want to provide information about programs and services as well as get feedback from the public.  We also hope that this will create an online community for individuals and families who use our accessible facilities and technologies.
 
We hope that you will check back frequently and let us know how we’re doing.  We look forward to getting to know all of you a bit better and hope that we can do the same for you.